DALLAS – The No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes (12-1, 9-0 Big Ten Conference) put in its most extensive practice session in North Texas Monday afternoon ahead of Wednesday's College Football Playoff Quarterfinal game at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.
 
The defending National Champion Buckeyes will face 10th-seeded Miami (Fla.) (11-2, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) in the 90th edition of the Classic in a New Year's Eve College Football Playoff quarterfinal matchup at AT&T Stadium.
 
Head Coach Ryan Day and Ohio State are making their third consecutive appearance here and second of the calendar year. Last season, the Buckeyes were coming off playoff wins over Tennessee and Oregon en route to their win in the 89th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic in the CFP semifinal.
 
This year's appearance sees the Buckeyes coming off a first-round playoff bye after a loss in the Big Ten Conference championship game. OSU has moved forward throughout December towards improvement.

"Well, I just think it all comes down to our mindset and our preparation, and we've had a few weeks to go through and identify the things that we've done well during the regular season, and then the things that we need to do better in order to win this game, because that's the focus, winning this game," Day said. "That's it. Nothing else. And so, there's been things that we've done well and then things that we don't do well."

Day acknowledged that there are issues whether you win or lose the previous game, and that his team has been diligent in getting ready for Miami.

"So, we certainly have used these last three weeks to get ourselves ready to play this game," Day said.  "There's a lot that goes with it, and I think we've had a good plan going into it, and so now we need another great day of preparation. And I feel like when you get into the playoffs, you have to rebuild momentum, and that's exactly what we need to do here."

The 2025 College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the 90th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic is Wednesday, Dec. 31 at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN and ESPN Radio. Kickoff is slated for 6:40 p.m.
 
This year's Classic is a part of the ESPN bowl lineup for the 12th straight year. Dave Pasch and Dusty Dvoracek are set to the call the action from the booth with Quint Kessenich and Taylor McGregor reporting from the sidelines. ESPN Radio returns as the Classic's national radio partner for the 12th consecutive year with Mike Couzens and Max Starks in the booth and Morgan Uber on the sidelines to describe all the action from AT&T Stadium.

Follow the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic on X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and TikTok.